University researchers to examine quality of online legal advice for child court cases
Researchers are to examine whether vulnerable people representing themselves in child court cases find themselves and their children put at risk by misinformed or biased online legal advice.
The project will be carried out by Dr Tatiana Tkacukova, Senior Lecturer in English Language at Birmingham City University, and Hilary Sommerlad, Professor of Law and Justice at the University of Leeds.
The study will focus specifically on public and private child cases – including those related to child protection and children’s living arrangements – and examine the quality and accuracy of free legal support made available online.
More than 80% of family court cases are now said to have at least one party representing themselves as a Litigant in Person (LIP).
The research project comes amid concerns about the quality of information and advice provided online by McKenzie Friends or online forum facilitators.
Dr Tkacukova said: “People representing themselves in court often find themselves at an immediate disadvantage because the language of law, the documentation and the processes are all geared towards those who have previous working knowledge of it.
“For people without any background in law it is very difficult to know where to look for relevant information, which legal concepts are applicable to their case or how to present their side of the story in an appropriate way, so often they will look for help, support or information online.”
She added: “Unfortunately a lot of the information which is out there is either incorrect or has been designed to further a specific viewpoint of how justice should or should not work. This can not only lead to people unwittingly be used to further propaganda, but more worryingly can have a serious impact on the way justice is delivered and the lives of children.
“What we want to do with this project is find out what information LIPs are seeking online and what advice they are provided with so that we are able to help drive change and support people in searching for legal advice they need.”
The project is intended to produce clear guidance to help people avoid being given unreliable information and improve LIPs’ awareness of the choices they have when seeking legal advice.
Professor Sommerland said: “Access to the law is vital if people are to realise their rights and defend claims brought against them. Yet the law is alien and intimidating to most lay people.
“With the removal of legal aid from most private law matters more and more people are obliged to navigate the law’s highly complex procedures and deal with its esoteric language unaided, and often at points in their lives when they are at their most vulnerable.
“As a result many turn to online sources including ‘McKenzie Friends’, that is those who offer representation themselves on a voluntary basis or for a fee.
“As an unregulated source of legal aid, the quality of information and advice provided is inevitably highly variable. This research into the online activities of McKenzie Friends will therefore be extremely valuable in assessing the dangers and benefits of this form of advice.”
